Sample Tours:

Saturday, 20 February 2016

Of all the chateaux in the Loire Valley (there is estimated to be about 700 in the central part of the Loire Valley) the one that topped the list again in 2015 is Chenonceau.

Built
on the site of a water mill in the 1500's the chateau has a long and
varied history, much of it connected to women of power and influence:
Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici, Louise de Lorraine, Mary Queen of Scots, and Gabrielle
d'Estrées.

You
can see Chenonceau as part of a custom tour designed specifically to
visit the places you want to see, or take our most popular tour
which visits the chateaux of Chenonceau and Cheverny

Wednesday, 10 February 2016

If coming to the Loire Valley for a short break it makes perfect sense to come to us
using the French train system, more particularly the very fast train
(TGV). This train travels from Paris Montparnasse to St Pierre des Corps
(the main station for Tours) at 300km/h (186mph) and takes about an
hour to do the trip.

We can't book your rail tickets for you, but we
will give you a handy guide to make the process easy. If you book early
enough, the tickets can cost less than €20 per person each way.Once you have your tickets (and we really can recommend the print at home variety) there is just the matter of the station to negociate. Paris Montparnasse is a big station, served by 4 differnt metro lines. If you arrive by Metro ligne 6 or Line 13, you are very close to the mainline station. Metro Ligne 4 and Ligne 12 are slighly further away, but served by a moving walkway.Whichever metro you arrive at, follow the signs to "Trains Grande Lignes" (they look like this) to Halls 1&2. Your train will be shown on the departures board, and 20 minutes before departure the platform number will be shown. Customarily the trains to Saint Pierre des Corps leave from the eastern end of the grand hall (left hand side as you look at the trains).

If you have tickets you have collected at a station or SNCF boutique or have had posted to you, they need to be "composted" - not what you think, this machine stamps the date, time and station name on the ticket.

If you
have print at home tickets all you need to is find your seats - the car
number is shown on a display by the side of each door, and seats - the
number is shown on the top of the divider between each pair of seats. Settle down, and enjoy the ride.

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About Celestine and Claudette

Who are We?

We are a specialist tour company organising tours of the Loire Valley and surrounding areas.

If you are visiting Paris for a week or two, book a day trip away from the big city bustle and experience the heart of France. We provide custom tours of the Loire Valley, travelling in our classic French 1953 Citroën Traction Avant. Going on a day trip with us is like having a day out with friends. We visit the grand châteaux you have always dreamed of seeing, stopping along the way at small overlooked sites that can range from WW2 memorials to Roman ruins or pre-historic burials.

à la carte

In addition to our custom made tours we have devised some standard itineraries that visit some of the most popular chateaux of the Loire Valley. Prices are current for all of 2017

Chenonceau andMontpoupon.€910 One of the grandest and most popular chateaux of the Loire Valley, with one of the less visited chateaux in the afternoon.Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau€ 890 for two people, starting in Tours, including lunch and entry fees. Please email us us for more details.

Chenonceau and Cheverny€995 Chenonceau, the most iconic of Loire chateaux in the morning, and Cheverny after lunch. More details are here

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About Our Cars

The cars we use for our tours are Citroen Traction Avant 11Bs, a car designed in 1934 and built almost unchanged until 1957. Célestine was built in 1953, and Claudette in 1956

You will be amazed at how comfortable they are, and how much attention they attract. When it is parked a Traction Avant is the centre of attention, and people are always happy to see such an iconic car in good condition and being used. We have had many conversations with strangers about the glory days of motor touring.

We invite you to relive the fun of those days with us and our special cars.